Tuesday, 29 October 2013

Aviemore half and Livingston cross country



Wendy Howell set a new club record for the half marathon with a terrific 1.28.28 to finish as fourth woman at the recent Aviemore half marathon. Wendy is on a fine streak at the moment, benefiting from her triathlon training, with this outstanding half marathon effort coming just a few weeks after her first place finish in the women’s race at the Pitlochry 10k in September.
Also running in the half marathon was Lawrence Howell, finishing in a very good 1.40.55, and Karen Westley, taking a break from her cycling to record an excellent 1.46.49 finishing 10th in her age category.  The half marathon is one of two races run on the same day, and making a very welcome return to race action in the 10k was club secretary Seonaid, finishing in 52.42 in 12th position in her age category.
The weekend also marked the start of the cross-country season with the East District Cross-country relays at Livingston. The Harriers had four teams entered, with two boys, one girls team running for the Juniors, with one team representing the Senior Women. Sadly, injury ruled out the Senior Men’s team.
The Boys A team of Levi Sweeney, Lewis Forsyth and Charlie Grimson finished a creditable 16th and were just 10 seconds away from 11th place. The Boys B team of Keir McEwan, Andrew MacInnes and Angus Fraser were 27th, and the Girls team of Ally Hall, Catriona Roberts and Maddy Watson  were an excellent 18th. The Women’s team of Emily Greaves, Fiona McDonald and Nicola Watson all ran well to finish 28th. Emily had a busy weekend, having run on Saturday on the Meall nan Tarmachan race, finishing in an excellent second place, beaten only by Scottish international Angela Mudge.

Not content with racing at all points of the compass, Harriers have also been busy raising money for two charities. A new event of beerienteering in Comrie and Crieff raised nearly £400 in aid of Pancreatic Cancer Research. The club has been supporting this charity since club member Simon Wake died of the disease, and has raised a total of nearly £6400 for the charity over a series of events, including the Simon Wake Comrie Hills Relay and the popular quiz nights shared with the British Legion. The club also raised nearly £300 for the Crieff Community Hospital with a special Nepalese night at the Gurkha Restaurant in Crieff, and the club would like to thank Sam and Rina for their hospitality and generosity in supporting this cause.

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